Though
inspired by true events, this book is a work of fiction. The
characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s
imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to
actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All
rights reserved. Darwin,
A Tortoise’s Wish, the Novel™
is a Trademark of Arkwatch Holdings, LLC. No part of this publication
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Cover:
Arkwatch Holdings, LLC and Karen Fuller

Illustrator: Paul
Barton, II

Editor: Melissa Davis

Be kind to our animals every day!

Thank you, Erik Shein

Chapter
1

What’s Love?

A
solitary tortoise sat in meditation from his perch far in the clouds.
Chronos was the wise one, a being whose sole purpose was to help lead
others to their destiny. He opened his eyes and watched the world
below. He saw multi-colored Marine Iguanas emerging from the ocean
foam. They had just finished their morning dive into the depths of
the cold water for the red and green algae that grew there. They rode
the waves to the shore and climbed the dark lava rocks to their safe
perches overlooking their island.

A
colony of baby sea lions cavorted together as they rolled around the
sand teasing each other. Their happy barks could be heard even up in
the clouds. Chronos smiled at their antics. Near the sea lions, he
saw the colony of great ones, the Galapagos tortoises who calmly
munched on grass several yards from the beach. They grazed
contentedly, while Darwin Finches picked insects off their large
shells. Today was a new beginning for some of them, as tiny
hatchlings were making their way into the world.

Chronos
had a deep affinity with the tortoises, animals who seemed to be
created in his own image. While he kept an eye on all the creatures
great and small, he could not help but feel even more attached to
them. He watched the world below, ready to give his blessings to the
tiny creatures about to emerge. “May you grow strong enough to
survive and wise enough to find beauty in all things.”

The
sand shuffled ever so slightly, as a tiny creature started to dig
through the heavy layers that kept him tucked safely below the
surface. He pushed at the sand with his head, as his tiny legs dug
with his feet. It was a slow process that seemed to take a lifetime,
but when the tortoise finally poked his head through, he saw a whole
new world before him.

Everywhere
he looked, Darwin saw beautiful vibrant colors. Near him, a
multicolored Iguana was sunning himself on a rock.

“Hello?”
Darwin whispered, but the Iguana did not seem to hear him. He had
never used his voice before. Gulping, Darwin tried again. “Hello,
sir!”

His
voice came out so loud, the Iguana jumped back a few steps and glared
at him. “Do you mind?” The iguana scampered across the rocks
muttering about how he should be able to sun himself in peace.

“Sorry.”
Darwin called after him. His head hung low for a moment before he saw
a few birds nearby. He moved toward them, but by the time he made it
closer to them, they had flown away. “Isn’t there anyone I can
talk to?”

Darwin
laid his head down on a rock and a tear fell from his eye. He had
already been alone for the past several months beneath the surface of
the sand. Darwin thought once he came up to the surface he would no
longer be alone. He was lost in his solitude when the rock beneath
him started to move. “Whoa, whoa, what?” Darwin fell back to the
sand and was ready to bolt, as fast as tortoise like himself could,
but the rock turned around and a face appeared.

“Darwin!
Oh at last!”

Darwin
tilted his head and looked at the aged tortoise before him. Was this
his mother? Could it be? “Are you my mother?”

“Yes,
Darwin.” Sera smiled tenderly at him.

“I’m
not all alone?” His voice wobbled.

“Not
as long as we have each other.” Sera wrapped her neck around his
eyes and embraced her child. Darwin was the only egg that had hatched
from the six that she had laid. Scavengers had found the other five.
Darwin was hidden so well beneath the surface.

“I
love you, Mama.”

“I
love you too, Darwin.” Sera stepped back. “Are you hungry?”

“Always!”
Darwin perked up at the thought of food.

“Good,
I have just the thing for you, but we’ll have to travel a bit. Can
you manage?” Sera asked him.

Darwin
lifted his left front foot and inspected it for a moment. Then he
moved the other foot. “I think so, Mama.”

“Good.
Let’s go home, Darwin.”

“Home?”
He looked up at her questioningly. His tiny hole up on the hill was
all that he had ever known.

“Okay,
Mama.” Darwin moved forward a bit and his front feet caught on a
small root that was hidden in the sand. He toppled over and landed on
his back. “A little help?”

“My
boy, you must be more careful, Darwin.” Sera moved back to him and
nudge him back over with her head. She lowered her head and put the
root in her mouth. Her strong jaws snapped the branching root in
half. “There now.”

They
walked together for hours. Darwin was filled with wonder as he saw
new things every few minutes. A sea lion was rolling around in the
sand. He scooted his whole body around until his fur was covered in
the tiny granules. “Why is he doing that, Mama?”

“To
protect himself from the sun, Darwin,” explained Sera.

Darwin
looked up in the sky at the sun. “What about us? Do we need to
worry about the sun?”

“Not
as much, Darwin. In fact, we need the sun. It helps us grow big and
strong.” She smiled at him.

“Oh.
What else do we need to grow big and strong?” Darwin imagined what
he would look like when he was older. Would he have a shell as large
as his mother’s? He inspected the large patches of shell that were
etched with tiny lines that shaped each square as she grew. Sera was
a beautiful tortoise. Her weathered skin looked tough at first
glance, but it was soft and yielding when she had hugged him tight.

“Food,
Darwin. We need food and lucky for you, I’ve found a good patch of
it.” Sera pointed to the small bushes near them. “Do you see the
tiny bushes growing beneath?”

Darwin
stretched his neck and peered at the bush. He saw the small
vegetation below. “Yeah?”

“It’s
our job to keep it from growing there.” Sera slowly ambled closer
to the patch and began to munch on the leaves below.

“But
why?” Darwin did not understand why they would want to destroy such
a tiny plant.

“Because,
these plants are intruding on the ones that are already here. If we
are to preserve our habitat, we must trim away the extras to keep
what we have healthy.”

“Oh.
Right.” Darwin moved slowly toward a bush. He lowered his head and
sniffed the plants before him. They smelled fresh and green, if that
were even possible. He took his first bite and was surprised how
sweet the leaves tasted compared to the stale old fare he had eaten
up until this point. He ripped several more leaves off and stuffed
them in as much as possible. “This…is…good….” He said
through muffled chews.

“Darwin,
please don’t talk with your mouth full.” Sera shook her head at
the little tortoise and stifled a chuckle.

Darwin
gulped his food down. “Er...sorry, Mama.”

“Not
to worry, Darwin. You have a lot to learn.” She smiled softly at
him. “Soon, I will introduce you to the others.”

“Others?”
Darwin looked at his mother with excitement. “There are others?”

“Not
so many, but there are more of us.”

“What
about my father?” Darwin was hoping he would get to meet him soon.

“Unfortunately,
there’s only me, my son.” Sera looked away sadly.

“But,
why?” Darwin cocked his head to the side and looked at her
curiously.

“He
tried to escape from the Ferals on the island and landed in the sea.”
Sera was still shaken by the grief of his loss. It was etched in
every inch of her face. “He was my one true love.”

“I’m
sorry, Mama. I wish I could have met him. What is a true love?

“A
true love is the one person your heart was made for. Mine was made
for Diego. We had a special bond no one could ever match.”

“Wow.
Do you think I will have a true love?” Darwin did not have much
experience with love, only the happy thoughts in his heart when he
thought of being with his mother. That was love, but somehow, Darwin
knew that was not what Sera talked about. By the wistful look in his
mother’s eyes, it must have been truly important.

“Yes,
Darwin. I hope you will. But that comes later. For now, you can just
be my darling boy, all right?” The sad tears were no longer in
Sera’s eyes. Instead, a joy and hope was etched strongly inside.
Sera had the best parts of her true love standing right before her.
Today, she would mourn his loss no more. Sera would celebrate the
life that stood before her and help teach him how to be the best
tortoise he could be.

“All
right, Mama.” Darwin smiled at Sera. He was happy to see the
sadness was no longer displayed across her face as she looked over at
him. While she had told him to not worry about finding a true love,
for some reason the idea that there might be one tortoise out there
just for him was not something he could easily forget. One day,
Darwin would find his love and his life would truly be fulfilled.

Chapter
2

New Friends

The
next morning, the two tortoises made their way to a small stretch of
beach. Darwin saw two red-puffed frigates fighting over a leftover
fish that had been discarded by another bird. One of them fell over a
shell behind him. A crab lifted up his shell and held a pincher up at
him. He clamped down on the bird’s leg. “Watch it will ya?”

Darwin
giggled and the two birds looked at him. “Oops sorry…”

“Boys,
meet Darwin.” Sera introduced him.

“Wow,
he’s finally here! This is amazing news, Sera!” Chester said. He
was the taller of the two birds.

“Diego
would be so proud,” Louis added.

“Darwin,
these two birds are Louis and Chester.” Sera nodded at each bird in
turn. The frigates could have been twins if not for the slight size
difference. Each one had shiny black feathers covering the majority
of their bodies, except for the bright red belly that they puffed out
to attract their mates.

“Nice
to meet you both.” Darwin gave each a genuine smile.

“Yes,
same.” Chester turned to find Louis had dove back into the eating
without him. “Watch it you!”

“Come,
Darwin.” Sera gestured for him to follow her.

“Yes,
Mama. Are there other tortoises here?” Darwin asked her innocently.

“From
time to time, Darwin, but we are spread all across the island. Since
a few of the hatchlings have come to the surface, you will get a
chance to meet a few.”

“I
can’t wait!” Darwin was very excited. What if he met his true
love today? Could that happen? Darwin wondered when his mother knew
Diego was the one for her. He wanted to ask her, but the question
made him feel silly. Surely, one as young as he was should be focused
on other things. Like play, apparently. Darwin looked across at the
young seals near the shorelines. They were hitting some object back
and forth to each other. “Mama, what are they doing? And what is
that thing?”

“They
are playing, Darwin. That’s something that washed up on our beach
long ago. It used to be much larger, but now it’s tiny. Would you
like to play with them?” Sera asked him.

“How?
They are much faster than me, Mama.” Darwin smirked as he looked at
his feet.

“There
is nothing you can’t do if you put your mind to it, Darwin. Why
don’t you try?” Sera suggested.

“Well,
all right, I guess.” Darwin walked in his slow steady fashion over
to the seal pups. The round thing landed right at his feet and Darwin
panicked momentarily.

“Hey,
can you hand that here?” asked the first pup.

“I’ll
try,” Darwin answered. Darwin nudged the ball softly with his head,
but it barely budged. He gave it a hard push and it flew through the
air. Darwin looked up amazed at what he had just accomplished.

“Nice
toss!” the second pup said in awe. “I wish I could hit like you!”

“Thanks.”
Darwin smiled sheepishly.

“I’m
Miles, and this is Denver.” Miles was the smaller of the two. He
had patches of mottled grey and brown in his coat, whereas Denver was
a sleek gray.

“Hi!
I’m Darwin. Do you mind if I join you?” Darwin asked.

Denver
looked at Miles and then back at Darwin. “I tell you what…how
about you be our ball guardian?”

“What’s
that?” Darwin was curious.

“If
the ball lands over by you, you chuff it back at us. How does that
sound?” Denver suggested.

“Oh.
Yeah, I can do that.” Darwin was relieved actually. The idea of a
tortoise hitting a ball back and forth with the speed of one of them
was a little farfetched. But, if he could just get the ball to them
if it landed next to him, then he would be okay.

As
it turned out, the ball landed there several times over the next few
hours. Darwin had a blast playing with his new friends. Life was
certainly going to be interesting here. He only stopped playing when
his mother called him over.

“Darwin!”
Sera called.

“Yes.
Mother?” Darwin turned to her.

“I
see some of our kind just up the stretch. Would you like to meet
them? It looks like Nika and her small brood. They hatched a little
before you.”

“Sure!”
Darwin was excited to meet other tortoises. What if he met his true
love? What an exciting thought. Darwin followed after his mother with
an almost light hop in his step.

When
they came up the hill, Darwin scanned the scene before him. There in
the glow of the afternoon sun was the most gorgeous Tortoise Darwin
had ever seen. Now, it goes without saying, that Darwin had not met
many tortoises in his young life, but he knew a natural beauty when
he saw one. She was a dusty grey tortoise, with the right proportion
of squares on her patch. Her shell seemed to glisten in the sunlight.

They
were on their way to the beautiful tortoise when a voice called from
the left. “Sera, is that Darwin?”

“Hello,
Nika. Yes, this is my Darwin. Are Lola and Anima here?” Sera
searched the beach for the two younger tortoises.

“Yes.
That’s Anima down at the beach. Lola is right behind me. She’s a
little shy, you know with her shell issue and all.” Nika tried to
nudge Lola forward, but the small tortoise was shy.

“Not
to worry. I’m sure Darwin would love to say hello to Lola, right
Darwin?”

“What?”
Darwin was still watching the lovely Anima from afar. He was not the
only tortoise watching her.

“Darwin,
come say hi to Lola.” His mother directed him.

Darwin
shook his head slowly to clear his thoughts. “Who, Mama?”

“Lola.
My goodness, Darwin. What has gotten into you?” Sera sighed.

“Sorry,
Mama. Hello, Lola.” Darwin looked around Nika’s shell. Behind her
was a female tortoise with the same coloring as Anima. Where Anima
was all sparkly perfection, Lola was quite the opposite. Her shell
was rigid and small rough peaks came out from it, making it look like
tiny pyramids on her shell. Darwin looked away and found that this
was unusual compared to the other tortoises. “What happened to your
shell?”

Sera
gasped. “Darwin! Apologize at once!”

Darwin
looked at his mother in confusion. “Did I do something wrong?”

“It’s
ok, really.” Lola interrupted. “Hi, Darwin. It’s nice to meet
you.” Lola looked at Darwin as if he were the moon in the sky. For
her, it was love at first sight.

Darwin
was clueless to the adoration in her eyes. Instead he turned around
to get another view of Anima. “Is that Anima?”

“Fine.”
Lola did as instructed, but it was clear she would love to do
anything but give her sister another admirer.

“Thanks,
Lola.” Darwin smiled in gratitude.

When
Lola saw the smile on Darwin’s face, she almost melted in a puddle
at his feet. “You’re welcome.”

When
Darwin was finally before Anima, he started to say hello, but the
words almost did not make it out. “He…uh...hum…I mean hello.”

Anima
gave him a pitying smile. “Hello.”

Lola
rolled her eyes. “Anima this is Darwin.”

“Darwin?
You must be Sera’s son.” Anima gave him a smile and turned just
slightly so her shell glimmered in the sun. The sand she added made
her sparkle more than the other tortoises.

“Uhm…yes.”
Darwin was distracted by her beauty, much to Lola’s dismay.

“Well,
now you’ve met her. I’m going to go.” Lola waited to see if
Darwin would even notice she was leaving. Her cheeks were red with
annoyance when she realized that yet another one had fallen for her
beautiful sister. If only Lola’s shell were as perfect as Anima’s.
Then Darwin would love her. Lola slowly drudged back up to her
mother, where she went back to her hiding place.

Later
that night, when Sera was walking Darwin home, he turned to her and
sighed. “Mama?”

“What
does that mean, Mama?” Darwin was confused. What did her sparkling
have to do with gold?

“It
means, that sometimes beauty is found in places you don’t normally
look. And that beauty is not always a reason to love someone.” Sera
answered wisely.

“Oh.
Well, what if it’s right in front of you though?” Darwin asked.
In his mind, Anima was perfection. Even at his tender age, his head
was filled with thoughts of her.

“Oh,
Darwin. Don’t be in a rush, my love.” Sera left it at that.

Darwin
seemed to know that his mother wanted him to drop the topic, so he
did, for now. He was sure that Anima was his one true love and that
eventually the rest of the world would know it.

Chapter
3

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

A
few years later….

Every
once in a while, Darwin would see the other tortoises around the
island. He spent most of his time making friends with those that were
nothing like him though. His heart still beat for the beautiful Anima
who was everything any tortoise could want in a mate. They had a
handful of interactions, all of which seemed to be interrupted by
Anima’s awkward sister, Lola, who was never far away.

Today
was one of those such days. Darwin was kind to Lola. His mother had
always taught him that kindness was priceless and yet it cost not a
thing to give. It had been a few years since Darwin had first come up
to the surface. His feelings for Anima still had not changed. Every
once in a while, he caught her looking at him and he would feel tiny
butterflies in the pit of his belly.

“Darwin?”
Sera’s voice caught him off guard.

“Yes,
Mama?” Darwin turned to face Sera.

“What
a lovely day! The sun is bright and beautiful. Look at those flowers
mixed with the juicy grasses over there. What a treat!”

“But,
Lola’s over there,” grumbled Darwin.

“Yes,
she is and Lola is your friend. Or have you forgotten?” Sera shook
her head at her son. He still had not given up on his thoughts on
Anima. Even after these years, when Sera had tried to get him to
focus his time on learning how to be a strong and confident tortoise.
While Darwin had grown in those areas, every time he got near Anima,
he seemed to forget them. Sera wished he would realize that he was
just as wonderful as the tortoise he longed for.

“Fine.
I’ll eat with Lola, but then I’m going to go see if Anima wants
to go for a walk.”

“Right.
You do that dear.” Sera sighed softly as Darwin walked toward Lola.
The poor tortoise still had some pyramiding going on in her shell,
which was a deformity none of the tortoises wanted. It would
certainly make it harder for her to attract a mate. Sera and Nika had
hoped that Darwin, with his gentle nature would be perfect for Lola,
but unfortunately, the heart wanted what it wanted. Even though both
of their offspring were too young to think about their future mates,
both worried about them.

Sera
walked slowly over to Nika. “I wish I could show him how beautiful
she is, Nika.”

“I
know, Sera. Poor Lola is head over heels for him too. Anima, well,
she’ll have plenty of suitors and probably will end up with one who
will treat her well, but Lola, I worry about her.” Nika looked down
at the ground and kicked a stone with her foot.

“Lola
will grow into a lovely tortoise, Nika. It just takes time.” Sera
knew that it looked hopeless right now, but even she had noticed that
Lola’s shell was starting to even out a little.

When
Darwin reached the flower patch and greeted his friend. “Hi, Lola.
How is the food today?”

Lola
blushed before answering. “Hi, Darwin. The flowers are extra sweet
today. I was trying to figure out how I could take some home with
me.”

“Oh?”
The left side of Darwin’s face turned up and both eyes looked to
the left as the gears in his head started to turn. “Let me think.”

Darwin
saw a large strand of grass near them. He reached down and snapped
the shoot closer to the ground. Laying that on the ground, he then
gathered several flowers that he laid down on top of the grass.
Darwin used his mouth to weave the flower stalks together with the
grass. When he was done, Darwin, picked up the flowers and handed
them to Lola.

“How
did you learn how to do that, Darwin?”

“I’ve
watched Chester and Louis build nests before. They weave things
together like sticks, grasses, and left over patches of fur that they
find throughout the island.”

“You’re
so clever, Darwin.” Lola beamed at him. She tried to turn down her
excitement, because she knew Darwin did not return her affections.

“I’m
glad someone thinks so.” Darwin glanced at the beach where Anima
was having a lively conversation with one of her friends.

“Someday,
she’ll notice, Darwin.” Lola tried not to let herself feel
downcast. She knew that Darwin only had eyes for her sister. And
while she should hate him for not thinking of her, how could she?
Here he was, the best friend she had ever had, and instead of going
straight to the beautiful Anima, he was helping her figure out how to
store these flowers for later. He was a decent tortoise, that was one
thing she knew for sure.

Darwin
smiled at Lola. “Thanks for saying that, Lola.”

“Sure,
Darwin.” Lola gave him a loopy grin.

“Look,
if you want, we can make a few batches of these for you. You should
be able to do it too.” Darwin suggested.

“That
sounds like a plan, but how will I carry then back?”

“Well…”
Darwin sat for a moment and closed his eyes. After a few minutes had
passed, Darwin opened his eyes and smiled. “Got it. We could make a
chain, almost like the circle of the top of the bird’s nest. You
could wear it like a wreath around your neck or we can make it large
enough to settle over your shell.”

“Sounds
like a plan!” Lola was excited. She loved learning new things from
Darwin. That, and he was pretty much the only tortoise that would
talk to her. While her shell was not nearly as bad as it was when she
was first hatched, the strange shape had made her stand out from the
others and not in a good way. They did not pick on her, but chose to
ignore her.

They
were halfway through making the chain of flowers, when they were
interrupted. “Hey, Darwin!”

Darwin
dropped the flowers in his mouth and turned around nervously. “Hi,
Anima.”

“I
thought you were going to come talk to me earlier.” She gave him
her most fantastic smile and Darwin was besotted right away.

“Oh,
well, yeah, but I started to make this for Lola.” Darwin tried to
explain. If it were possible for his tongue to fall out from his
mouth like a red carpet for her to walk upon, it would have. Anima
put stars in his eyes whenever she was near. His heart beat faster,
and his thoughts were always muddled.

“Isn’t
that cute.” Anima said. She batted eyes at Darwin and turned to
Lola who was glaring at her. “What a thoughtful thing to do. I wish
someone would make one for me.”

Darwin
jumped at the thought of making something special for Anima. “I can
make you one too. Let me just finish this one.”

“Oh,
no need, Darwin. I’m sure Lola can finish her own, right Lola?”

Lola’s
face fell and her voice almost came in a whisper. “Yeah, sure.”
Picking up the flowers that Darwin dropped, she started to weave them
in the way he had shown her. The other two did not even notice her
for the rest of the day.

Later
that night, Lola turned to her sister. “Why do you have to play him
like that, Anima?”

“I
don’t know what you mean, Lola.” Anima looked down at her
well-manicured toes.

“Anima!”
Lola wanted to throw something heavy at her sister, the only thing in
sight was the small bouquet of flowers left from her wreath. She
picked it up and tossed it at her sister. They smacked Anima in the
face her sister laughed.

“You
know, you try way too hard, Lola. Just bat an eye and give a half
turned smile once and a while and you’ll find the right tortoise
for you.” While Anima’s advice seemed sisterly, it fell flat on
its sentiment.

“I
would, if thought for an instant you actually wanted him for
yourself.” Lola wiped her tear away, promising herself not to show
any weakness in front of Anima. She loved her sister, but Anima was
surprisingly lacking compassion for others.

“It’s
not my fault, Lola. They want, what they want. Who am I to tell them
no?” Anima flashed her a smile that dazzled everyone around her. It
did not work on Lola.

“Ahhh!
You’re impossible.” Lola moved away from her sister and retrieved
the crumpled flowers from the floor of their cave. She moved to the
entrance and looked up at the moon. Sighing, she let herself dream
the impossible dream. Watching the clouds overhead, she imagined they
looked like Darwin. A small heart-shaped cloud was next to it.
Looking up at the moon, she could almost see two shapes next to each
other. One, Darwin, the other herself, their necks entwined in a
loving embrace. Lola sighed dreamily. “Oh, if only.”

Lola
knew every day her shell was improving, but what good did that do if
the one she loved would never see her for who she was? Could she
continue to be his friend and only his friend, when her heart was
breaking inside? The answer was easy, painful, but easy. She would
take Darwin any way she could have him and if being his friend was
all she would ever have, Lola would resign herself to it.

Chapter
4

The Ferals!

A
few more years passed on the island and it was spent learning to live
in harmony with the other animals. Unfortunately, not every animal
was in on this plan. While Darwin had very little interaction with
the feral problems on the island he had heard plenty about it from
Louis and Chester. For the most part, the goats and rats than ran
rampant on the island had kept away from the beaches. Apparently,
neither one of these animals liked the water that much, but that too
was changing.

Louis
flew down to the beach in such a hurry that all eyes quickly turned
to him. “They’re coming!”

“Who?”
asked Darwin.

“The
Ferals! You have to run.” Louis warned.

“Again,
Louis?” Darwin rolled his eyes. Every once and a while the two
birds would pretend that the Ferals were coming, when in fact no one
was. The animals had fled several times before only to find out later
that the birds were just being pranksters.

“They
got Chester!” The bird’s tiny voice broke with emotion. Emotions
were the one thing that Louis never did.

“Louis?”
Darwin was suddenly concerned. At that moment, a strange sound could
be heard in the distance. Darwin craned his neck to see, but could
only see a growing dust cloud advancing toward them. Darwin could not
help but stare in that direction, even though the other animals
around them were getting restless.

One
of the seals nearby asked “What is that?”

“I
think it’s Ferals,” answered Darwin.

“Right.
I’m out of here then!” The seal scampered down the beach into the
water.

Darwin
looked to where Anima had been sunning herself earlier. She was no
longer there. They were both further away from the adults, as was
their habit now that they were almost self-sufficient. If the Ferals
were coming, Anima would be unprepared for them. He needed to warn
her.

Sera
noticed the cloud coming toward them and her eyes were huge with
worry. She knew this danger. This was the exact thing that had
happened when Diego had fallen into the ocean. “Darwin, come back
quickly!”

Nika
called to her children. “Let’s go now! Something wicked this way
comes!”

“Darwin,
come now!” Lola shouted. Lola had stayed back with their mothers.
She found it easier to relate to them than those her own age these
days. Her awkwardness had never changed, even if her shell looked
much better than it had long ago. It would always make her
self-conscious regardless.

“Not
without Anima.” Darwin started off in the direction where he had
last seen Anima.

“Come,
Lola. We must go.” Nika turned to Sera. “You must join us. Tell
you son to run to the ocean. He could find a safe place there. We
know of a rocky area nearby where we can hide.”

“What
about Anima?” Lola asked her mother.

“She’s
a smart cookie, that one. I’m sure she’ll be all right, Lola. We
need to get to safety.” Nika started away from the group and headed
toward the rocky area she had spoken of.

Lola
looked at Sera. “What are you going to do, Sera?”

Sera
sighed sadly. “That force, whatever it is, is moving on us very
quickly. If he tries to return, he’ll be caught in the middle of
it. I’m afraid we must take her advice.”

“Right.”
Lola was just as concerned for Darwin’s safety. “Run to the ocean
and hide, Darwin. Protect yourself!”

The
tortoises were following after Nika, when they were cut off by the
group of Ferals. They started to flee in another direction from them.
Darwin was transfixed with fear. He saw his mother disappear in the
dust cloud. Climbing to the top of the hill, he looked back to find
that all the other tortoises were gone. He descended to the other
side of the hill toward the ocean, hopeful that he would still be
able to save Anima from the Ferals.

In
the distance, a large group or phalanx of wild goats were advancing
in the direction of the tortoises. These were some of the Ferals that
the animals on the island had come to fear. As they moved forward
groups of them devoured shrubs and trees in their path, while others
dashed ahead. The one thing that was true of these goats was that
they were always hungry and any competition for their food was seen
as direct threat to their livelihood.

One
group finished off a patch of grass then began digging at the ground
furiously in an attempt to consume every blade of grass. They dug
down deep searching for roots or tubers that might satisfy their
hunger. Some pushed and shoved in an angry frenzy to get a better
position.

Two
Ferals climbed the rock so they could get to the leaves on the lower
branches of a tree, which they ripped furiously from the branches.
Their furry coats were shedding bits of fur on branches as they
forced each other away from their food.

All
the goats stopped everything they were doing when a small group
parted them right down the middle. Malos, leader of the feral goats
was standing amidst the retinue of guards, who he dubbed his
Generals. They both flanked him on both sides. Malos stood on higher
ground and waited for everything to cease the moment the others
recognized his presence. His very presence commanded respect. All the
goats stopped what they were doing and turned to face him.

“Greetings
my brothers. Our advance in this part of the island has been very
successful. After all, we have taken what is rightfully ours,” he
paused to listen to the bleating agreement of the others. “We are
the superior animals of this world. All others bow to our will.”

The
Ferals began a strange sinister bleating of approval that echoed
throughout the area. A few of them snickered among themselves. Malos
continued with his speech, interrupting the bleating. “Our numbers
are strong and we now have become the dominant force on the island.
Thanks to my generals.”

Malos
nodded to the Generals at his side. “As you can see we’ve given
you a bountiful harvest. All we had to do was stick together and lead
with our intimidation tactics. We’ll now enjoy what we have here
and then branch out in greater numbers to take what is available from
the inferiors. Remember, there is only one important law in nature,
the survival of the fittest!” Malos paused for effect. “Weakness
is only to be exploited! The dominant species is always at the top of
the food chain—and that my friends is us!”

The
assembled Ferals began their hideous bleating again in a loud chorus
of approval. They were wild and vicious. The goats and rats that had
been dumped on the island by humans long ago, had reproduced so much
that their numbers had grown to be quite a force. Their need for food
for their survival often made them less interested in living
peacefully with the other animals on the island.

Malos
gestured for his generals to follow him. They did so unwaveringly. It
did not matter that they too were hungry. They lived to serve Malos.
When they were far enough away from the others, Malos spoke. “How
many did we scare away?”

“Almost
all the tortoises. They are hiding in their caves.” The first
general replied.

“Will
they relocate?” Malos asked him.

“I
assume so, Malos. They know not to mess with us. Remember the last
one who tried?”

“That
tortoise they called Diego?” Malos had a wicked gleam in his eye.
“He found out real fast what it’s like to swim with the fishies.”

“That
he did boss. No one else wants to suffer his fate.” The second
general bleated.